There were more than 560,000 votes cast in the finals and 9.6 million over the course of this year’s cover vote.

Sherman becomes the first defensive player to grace the cover since Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu in Madden NFL 10. He is the second Seahawks player to be the cover athlete — running back Shaun Alexander was on the cover of Madden NFL 2005.

Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson and former Detroit RB Barry Sanders graced the cover of last year’s Madden NFL 25. No Broncos player has been on the cover. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was one of the 16 players included in the cover vote, but he lost in the first round.

Matt Duchene (9) of the Colorado Avalanche keeps his balance after taking contact from Ryan Johansen (19) of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period of action. The Colorado Avalanche hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 31, 2013. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

The 26-year-old wide receiver lost to Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly in the first round of the cover vote for Madden NFL 15, NFL on ESPN tweeted out Thursday. Kuechly narrowly won, receiving 51 percent of the votes. Both were among 16 NFL players who were up for the cover.

Matt Duchene (9) of the Colorado Avalanche keeps his balance after taking contact from Ryan Johansen (19) of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period of action. The Colorado Avalanche hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 31, 2013. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene is one of eight quarterfinalists in the cover vote for NHL 15.

Duchene, 23, is coming off his best season in the NHL, tallying 23 goals and 47 assists in 71 games. He is facing off against St. Louis right wing T.J. Oshie.

It’s been a pretty eventful week for Martin Brodeur. Not only did the NHL’s all-time leader in wins, minutes played and shutouts get to announce that his New Jersey Devils drafted his son, Anthony, he also edged out Sergei Bobrovsky to be featured on the cover of NHL 14.

Brodeur becomes the first goalie to grace the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck in NHL 97.

Former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders will be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 25.

Barry Sanders may not have a Super Bowl title, but he becomes the first player to appear twice on the cover of Madden NFL.

The former Detroit Lions running back received 58 percent of the more than 700,000 votes cast in the finals of Sportsnation’s Madden 25 cover vote, beating out Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. There were more than 40 million votes cast throughout this year’s bracket.

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller advanced to the second round, as did former running back Terrell Davis.

Sanders was in the background of the cover of Madden NFL 2000. Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was the cover athlete for Madden NFL 13.

Broncos linebacker Von Miller squeaked by New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz with 51 percent of the vote to advance into the second round, while former running back Terrell Davis trounced former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly with 64 percent to move on in the old school division.

Miller faces off against former Colorado Rockies prospect and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Davis goes against cornerback Deion Sanders in the second round. Second round voting runs to March 27.

No player has graced the Madden cover in a Broncos uniform. Running back Peyton Hillis graced the Madden NFL 12 cover in a Cleveland Browns jersey.

All four would certainly worthy of cover consideration. Giroux was third in the league in points during the regular season (93) and lead in points during the playoffs (17). Malkin was the league’s points leader (109) and was second in goals (50). Tavares was seventh in points (81), but the Islanders missed the playoffs. Rinne led all goalies in wins (43) and saves (1,987).

The semifinal vote will go until May 28. The winner of each matchup will face off in a fan vote from May 29 to June 4 to be on the cover.

A&E reporter John Wenzel has covered a variety of topics for The Denver Post over the years, including video games, comedy, music and the fine arts. He's been playing and loving video games since his dad brought home a sweet ColecoVision in 1983. Catch him on PSN as beardsandgum.

Hugh got his start writing for the Cheyenne and Woodmen Edition newspapers in Colorado Springs. In 2011 he moved to Denver where he has written for Denver Urban Spectrum and Colorado Community Media’s Wheat Ridge Transcript. Hugh joined The Denver Post in 2014 as an editorial assistant.

Bryan Moore joined The Denver Post sports department in 1997 and has worked in many phases of producing the daily sports section ever since, specifically focusing on coverage of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and college football and basketball.